Janeites: The curious American cult of Jane Austen

Great article from 2013 from the BBC News Magazine‘s Jon Kelly on Jane Austen’s strong following in the U.S. Some gems from this article:

With their conventions, Regency costumes and self-written “sequels” to their heroine’s novels, Austen’s most dedicated adherents display a fervency easily rivalling that of the subcultures around Star Trek or Harry Potter.

While she may be regarded as one of the greatest writers in English literature, it’s difficult to imagine a similar level of fandom emerging around a novelist like, say, Charles Dickens.

For all that her stories can be by turns bleak and waspish, however, it’s the romance of Austen’s world that many Janeites say drew them in.

Read the full article.

Image from film Austenland.


By Nikki Willoughby
August 21, 2022